Geometry / Inner Tyre Wear

[Vyker]

What can i say guys..

I had a bad case of inner tyre wear on my T plate 1999 IS200.

When I have the car parked up somewhere, with the steering locked to one side, i would always look at the tyre and think, "nice these tyres are lasting well, check out all that tred"... Little did i know the tyre was wearing on the inside out of my view.

I noticed the car would also be very jittery under heavy breaking in a straight line, i had no idea why it was doing that, and put it down to the ball joints, even though i had them replaced it was still doing it.

After checking the forum, searching for inner tyre wear problems, i noticed that it appears to be a common problem, and that one man... a Mr To.... nay... DR Tony Bones from STS in Watford, had a mathmatical resolution to solve this problem.

so i took the car too him this afternoon.

the steering and brakes locked

the car went up...

the sensors attached..

and Tony got to work

and the shocking figures from the first set of checks came back.

you can clearly see how far out the figures are on ALL readings... toe, caster and Camber.

When i saw them on there, i was just shocked as to how far off there were, and how ive been driving for so long with such a poor set of angles.

another nice shot shows the same figures.

all the while our Tony, cool as a cucumber, knew exactly what he was doing, and set out to get it all sorted.

Here he is adjusting the rear driver side

Here he is using the spot welder to heat up a stiff bolt to loosen it.

Adjusting the front...

after about an hour of tweaking and tinkering to ensure all angels where spot on, the results came back.

You can clearly see the changes from the before shot.

Now there is one thing i have to stress, the figure in the top right that shows 5'26', and the other side showing 5'21'... these are the Caster angles.. now these angles are not adjustable, Tony had to make changes to other parts of the car and other angles to influence those figures, something i thought was pretty impressive. To accomodate so many angles to ensure each is set to its optimum settings. fantastic!

Once i started my drive back home, i noticed an immediate difference, the steering became ALOT more responsive and more stable at higher speeds. Now Tony warned me that i might notice a difference and pleaded with me to take it very easy for the next few miles to get used to it, and he was very right.

When steering into a corner, the car actually...... did!

as opposed to understeering and being forced to apply more lock to get round the corner.

On the topic of geometry or calibration, it appears to be a common misconception in the public domain as to what it is. when i would have chats with work mates about this problem only a few days ago they would all tell me, "ahh now you see mate, you need your tracking sorted"

"get you tracking checked out mate, looks like its out."

And i had to tell them all that getting your tracking done simply measures only the one angle, Tony measured nearly 18 angles!!!

Now the service wasent cheap[for me at least], paid £100.46 and i will need one tyre replaced, which i will get done tomorrow at a cost of £65, but when you consider getting a 1angle tracking done will cost you nearly £40... the £100 spent appears minimal in comparison.

And you also get a free check up after 2,000miles, so Tony, I'll see you soon :P [wont take me long, i do 350 a week]

so to sum up..

CHECK YOUR TYRES INNER WEAR!!

Tony showed me some examples of other IS's he had come in, and my jaw dropped. the tyres had gone past the "oh mate, your low on tred there, might wanna get some new tyres"...

the rubber was long gone, i could see thread and wire, effectivley the inners of the tyre, all the while the rest of the tred on the tyre as if new!

so ill say it again..

CHECK YOUT TYRES INNER WEAR!!

Tony did a fantastic job, and i dont know how i can recommend him more then just typing in this forum topic.

you could go to your local with the figures supplied by Tony, but there is no gaurentee that it will be done 100%, so if you do have this problem, visit him in Watford.

Some might say, when seeing his posts on here, that he is just after our custom, looking out for his Wheels in Motion company, but i can assure you, this isnt the case, he is just a man that is passionate about Geometry, and has recognised a possibly fatal flaw in an all round fantastic car.

Tony, I thank you!

p.s Jamie.. i took a picture of the under side for you, best i could do, hope it was what you were after

[Rsarin]

quite right tony is a legend

[Rich_Bee]

This just reminded me of something...

When my 220 was in for service last week they highlighted increased tyre wear on the inner and outer edges of the tyres funnily enough

Has anyone taken a 220/250 in yet to be checked over? Might be something to keep an eye on for the high motorway miles guys as you may not notice the extraordinary wear on the inner edges...

[Moffet]

I did a 600 mile round trip to visit the Dr... and then again for the fine tune... don't regret it one bit!

[Rikos]

I've got inner tyre wear on my front tyres

I'll have to get over to watford as soon as money allows!

[Tango]

This just reminded me of something...

When my 220 was in for service last week they highlighted increased tyre wear on the inner and outer edges of the tyres funnily enough

Has anyone taken a 220/250 in yet to be checked over? Might be something to keep an eye on for the high motorway miles guys as you may not notice the extraordinary wear on the inner edges...

Go search, it's been posted on LOC and WIM.The 250/220 is likely to suffer the same problem has it appears Lexus have got it wrong again. Problem with the second generation is that there's no camber adjustment so Tony's 200 type fix cannot be used. However, he set mine and we're monitoring. Good news is that there's no adverse wear anywhere over 10,000 miles so far, and that's with increased negative camber due to lowering.

[Tony-Bones]

Blimey... Nice pictorial VyKer. Fact is your situation was not unusual even though the entire chassis needed correcting. As you confess the handling is now transformed but more importantly the killer tyre wear issue is dissolved.

If this thread says anything team LOC it says please check your front tyre inners!

[Rikos]

My front inner tyres are wearing

I dont suppose i can pay in installments? :D

[el_gencer]

Nice review, i'll be seeing the Doc on the 18th to get my car sorted. The Doc is certainly held in high regard over here on LOC.

[Vyker]

Nice review, i'll be seeing the Doc on the 18th to get my car sorted. The Doc is certainly held in high regard over here on LOC.

Thanks..

He is, and rightly so.

I took my car to the tyre shop near my place, to get the front 2 tyres replaced with a new set of Dunlop SP3000A, cost me £150 all in.

But when the guy took the wheels off, he looked at the inner tyre wear and said to me.. "look boss, you have tracking problem, i fix.. £40.."

and i just looked at him with a grin on my face and said "its ok mate, i got it sorted already, lexus professional."

the common misconception in the public domain about tracking is astonishing!!

the world needs to be educated hehe

[IS300]

I can certainly agree with your comments about Tony, my tyre wear wasn't as bad as some, but I knew there was something wrong with the cars set-up and Tony sorted it for me when others (namely Lexus) couldn't.

The car is a real pleasure to drive when set up professionaly, but a real pig when it isn't.

[Jiberjaber]

Good write up - and a timley reminder for me also to get over to Tony's for a check up :)

Tony - will be in touch this week ;)

[Tony-Bones]

Good write up - and a timley reminder for me also to get over to Tony's for a check up :)

Tony - will be in touch this week ;)

Please do.....

[Vyker]

Good write up

Thanks :D

[johnboy]

Tony certainly is the main man when it comes to geometry.

He set mine approx 15000 miles ago, and my tyres are still wearing perfectly even.

Remember to have your free check up though it is very important.

Thanks Tony

[Tony-Bones]

Tony certainly is the main man when it comes to geometry.

He set mine approx 15000 miles ago, and my tyres are still wearing perfectly even.

Remember to have your free check up though it is very important.

Thanks Tony

Many new members may wonder what the 'fine-tune' is?

wheels-inmotion re-wrote the Geometry positions for the Lexus some years ago dissolving the habitual inner front tyre wear problem... But! We are all unique in our driving style and environment. There is no 'one set-up covers all' solution. On the fine-tune the uniqueness can be detected and since we have a previous image of the cars calibration positions then we simply adjust the chassis positions to accommodate.

In essence the real Geometry is not the first one it's the second one and that's why it's free :D

[Rikos]

I take it you wont accept an IOU as payment

[Tony-Bones]

I take it you wont accept an IOU as payment

No. But what i do accept is a LOC member in distress. If you genuinely cannot afford the calibration then i will set the car for free. I would rather that than you drive on killer tyres. Pm me a contact number so we can talk.

[boddamloon]

Tony you genuinly care about cars and i have not seen this sort of attitude and dedication in a number of years.Glad to see there are some guys like still around mate.Well done truly

[Rikos]

:o I am gobsmacked that is truly generous and shows a person who cares about their work.

PM sent

[PiratePete]

I take it you wont accept an IOU as payment

No. But what i do accept is a LOC member in distress. If you genuinely cannot afford the calibration then i will set the car for free. I would rather that than you drive on killer tyres. Pm me a contact number so we can talk.

Well I'm coming to see you soon Tony buit dunnae fesch lad I'll pay me way :)

Although the rest of my modding is gonna go on hold as I've just bought a pram (OMG those things are expensive), and my PC has decided to crash every 5 mins cos my graphics card is too new for the rest of the PC

[Tony-Bones]

I take it you wont accept an IOU as payment

No. But what i do accept is a LOC member in distress. If you genuinely cannot afford the calibration then i will set the car for free. I would rather that than you drive on killer tyres. Pm me a contact number so we can talk.

Well I'm coming to see you soon Tony buit dunnae fesch lad I'll pay me way :)

Although the rest of my modding is gonna go on hold as I've just bought a pram (OMG those things are expensive), and my PC has decided to crash every 5 mins cos my graphics card is too new for the rest of the PC

Last year my pc went 'tit's up' and a LOC member gave me his redundant pc/screen/scanner for free. This was a welcome gift. The member couldn't give everyone the pc but chose me due to my needs.... The same humanity applies to Rikos. I extend a welcoming arm without reward to someone in distress.... Tiss the LOC way.

[PiratePete]

Tony from WIM, yesterday.

[Unregistered_User]

:D

Oh what knowledge lurks beneath ;)

J

[boddamloon]